Cutting the cable: Part 2

So here we are again. It has been a while since we last saw each other. How has the diet of only OTA TV been going? Surviving you say? Great! Now that you have been without cable/satellite TV for a bit, let's see if we can find some replacements for some of the non-OTA shows you may be missing.

Cutting the cable: Part 1

Here is where the rubber meets the road. Over the past few days I am sure you have had a chance to think about our challenge from the last post. What can you live without as far as cable tv goes? I propose an experiment of sorts. Lets get to it shall we.

So if you are anything like us you are at least a little hesitant to go all out and "ditch the dish"or "cut the cable" either way the case may be. We did not go easy but rather went straight cold turkey. There were some "detox pains" in the beginning but we made it through. Since we have been through it and are now we are on the other side we can offer some insight on how to ween you and your family off the cable.

First and foremost, if you live in any decently populated area yo most likely have access to decent OTA (Over The Air) TV. This should be your local ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc. Nowadays you will need a digital converter box unless you have a newer TV that has the digital tuner built in. If you need a digital converter box I would recommend the Access HD 1080D NTIA-Approved Digital to Analog TV Converter Box #AffiliateLink. And if you need a digital ready antenna for indoor use with either a digital ready TV or the converter mentioned above I would recommend the Think Wireless Flat HDTV Antenna for Digital TV & Converter Boxes #AffiliateLink. What I would suggest is take the cable or satellite box out to the storage room. Just tell the family that it is broken and you are waiting for the cable/satellite company to send you a new one. See if you can survive on a diet of strictly OTA TV for a week or two. I am willing to bet you can.

If you can survive on strictly OTA TV then we are ready for the next step.

The Frugal Geek

Cutting the cable: Intro

Ok, after some requests I have decided to start off with the subject of "cutting the cable". For those that are unfamiliar with this term it refers to cutting costs by cutting off any cable or satellite service you have. Now don't be scared off by this as it is totally doable for the novice and geek alike.

We will start with the basics. Out of all the channels you have available to you on cable or satellite how many do you actually watch? Think about it really hard now. How many of those shows you watch are not on local TV? How many of them do you really need to be watching with your kids around? For me and my wife we narrowed it down to maybe 5 or 6 not including the local channels. Of those 5 or 6 there were not any we could not live without but was nice to have. For example on my list of "like to have" was Food Network, Discovery, and TLC. On my wife's list was Wifetime... err Lifetime, Disney and/or Nickelodeon (for the kids), and possibly WGN or similar as she is an avid Braves baseball fan. Of these none we "had" to have but would be bonus points if we did. When you look at the average cable or satellite bill is easily in the $100+ range you realize there is probably a LOT you can happily do without!

Our journey to "cutting the cable" started about 9 months ago. At the time we had Dish Networks and was paying around $120/month. OUCH I know. But we had the HD channels, nice DVR, second room receiver, etc. It was nearing time for our 2 year contract to be up. So I started looking at ways to save money on the bill. I finally came to the following realizations:

1. We hardly EVER watched TV in the bedroom (where the second receiver was)
2. While the HD channels were nice, I did not HAVE to have them.
3. I was paying for the Dish repair service (forgot the name) to the tune of nearly $10/month
4. We were on a plan that had way more channels than we ever watched.

While Dish was cheaper than comparable service through our local cable provider comcast, it was obviously more than we wanted to pay. So We canceled the second receiver, HD channels, repair service, and dropped to a lesser package that still had our channels we liked to watch. Just doing that cut our bill nearly in half!

So a month or two go by and I am still tired of paying Dish the roughly $65/month. So after I did a good bit of research I sat down with my wife and we discussed totally pulling the plug on Dish. After finding a few sources of replacement entertainment that was acceptable to us both we pulled the plug. No more Dish. No more "cable TV"! OH NO... What will we do now!!!!!

I am sure you see the "sources of replacement entertainment" in the above section. I will expound on those in the next entry as to do them justice they really do need their own entries. For now I will leave you with this, what can you absolutely not do without on your TV?


The Frugal Geek